ENGLISH
REFERENCE

rotten apple

idiom
Meaning

A bad person, especially one who has a corrupting influence on others.


Examples
SIMPLE

One rotten apple can spoil the whole group.

CONTEXTUAL

The manager fired the employee because he was a rotten apple who encouraged others to stop working hard.

COMPLEX

The committee feared that a single rotten apple within their ranks might compromise the integrity of the entire organization.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    apple of someone's eye

    The object of somebody's affections; a person (or sometimes a thing) that someone strongly prefers; a favorite, a loved one.

  2. 02

    apple polisher

    A sycophant; a toady.

  3. 03

    bad apple

    A person who is not wholesome, honest, or trustworthy, especially one who has an adverse influence on others.

  4. 04

    rotten egg

    A person who is the latest, the last, or the slowest in a group to arrive somewhere or to perform a certain task.

  5. 05

    something is rotten in the state of Denmark

    Something is not right, seriously amiss, especially when leading to suspicion of motive.

  6. 06

    spoil somebody rotten

    Alternative form of spoil someone rotten.

  7. 07

    spoil someone rotten

    To overindulge someone, especially when it results in making them selfish and demanding.

  8. 08

    the apple does not fall far from the tree

    A child grows up to be similar to its parents, both in behavior and in physical characteristics.

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